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Lander University Launches Unique Projects in Greenwood using a JEDA Bond

GREENWOOD, SC - Bond financing facilitated by the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority (JEDA) has helped Lander University launch two very different projects that each will contribute significantly to quality of life in the Greenwood area.

The $15.5 million in tax-exempt bond funding secured by The Lander Foundation will help build the university's new Recreation, Wellness and Sports Complex, as well as the Lander University Equestrian Center. The 25-acre Recreation, Wellness and Sports Complex, located on Montague Avenue adjacent to the Lander campus, will provide soccer, baseball, softball and tennis facilities and recreational space to the school and to the general community.

"This project will transform an abandoned shopping center into an asset for our city by providing athletic fields, a walking course and green spaces. We are very excited and pleased that Lander University will have such a dynamic new visible presence in our town," said Greenwood Mayor Welborn Adams.

The 37-acre Equestrian Center, off Highway 72/221 in Greenwood, will be home to both Lander's equestrian team and to therapeutic riding programs offered by the non-profit Burton Center for people with disabilities and other special needs. Covered and uncovered arenas, pastures, barns and classroom space will be included.

"In addition to the obvious benefits to their users, the sports complex and the equestrian center will each provide their own unique opportunities for interaction between the community and the university, furthering our ability to serve as Greenwood's primary institution of higher learning and service," said Adam Taylor, executive director of The Lander Foundation.

"These two projects will add significantly to what the dynamic, growing Greenwood community already offers to its full-time residents and students alike. They're diverse and substantial and innovative, and we're pleased to be able to have a role in this," said Kathy McKinney, bond counsel with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. in Greenville. "Creative public-private partnerships like this exemplify the kind of projects that state leaders have cited as ideal vehicles for economic and community growth during tough budget times. JEDA is pleased to be a part of this," said Harry Huntley, Executive Director of JEDA in Columbia.

The sports and equestrian complexes are expected to create several jobs and be fully operational in 2011.